Joe Barnett

He gives to all life, breath, and all things.                     —Acts 17:25 I believe that life is a gift from God. I believe that there is a God-designed reason you and I were born. I believe that God gives us the freedom to live this life […]

To him be the glory forever.        —Romans 11:36 I believe that God is all-powerful; that he is God, and there is no other—that he does what he pleases, and what he has planned he will do (Is 46:8–11). I believe that it is the Lord’s plan—not human plans—that will prevail (Prv 19:21);

He is Lord of lords and King of kings.               —Revelation 17:14 I believe that Jesus was with God in the beginning. I believe that he gave up his place in heaven and came to earth in human form, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin

Work as if you were doing it for the Lord, not for people.     —Colossians 3:23 The Jews were so steamed about Paul’s conversion they plotted his assassination. They posted around-the-clock lookouts at the Damascus gates, determined to drop him in his tracks the minute he split. But a cagey crew of disciples hatched

Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit.     —2 Kings 2:9 God was about to take the prophet Elijah home. “What can I do for you before I am taken from you?” Elijah asked Elisha, his protégé. Elisha replied, “Leave me a double share of your spirit” (2 Kgs 2:9). I can’t

Keep on praying and never give up.    —Luke 18:1 It’s only a guess on my part, but I have a hunch that you struggle a bit in your prayer life. Maybe it’s just that I want company, feeling that my own prayer time is feeble and deficient. Why, since Jesus bids us to ask,

I have been with you wherever you have gone.    —1 Chronicles 17:8 What has been your greatest disappointment? A business that didn’t gel? A job that you didn’t get? A promotion that didn’t come? A marriage that didn’t work. Something else? King David resolved to build a temple for the Lord. God nixed the

Do what is good and run from evil.               —Amos 5:14 When Hurricane Harvey made landfall near Rockport, Texas, on August 26, 2017, officials ordered mandatory evacuation. Residents who refused to leave were asked by the mayor to write their name and Social Security number on their arm with

Look around me and see. No one cares about me.    —Psalm 142:4 The Sunday following Sarah’s funeral—acute myeloid leukemia—Jim, her young husband, perched on their usual pew. Miss Melissa, a grandmotherly saint, made her way down the aisle and sat next to him. She never said a word but held his hand for the

I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened.    —Jeremiah 25:3 This morning I wrote down the names of five ministers who have been with one church for fifty years or more. Each has experienced times of discouragement, considered moving, or resigning ministry altogether. God said of Jeremiah: “Before I